I have a wild imagination, so a couple days after seeing The Dark Knight I remained a prime target for a scare. It was about 11:00 p.m. and I was in my apartment when something caught my eye. I dismissed it as a mind trick but the hairs stood a little straighter on the back of my neck. Out of curiosity, I decided to check my window (it is the perfect size for a psycho clown to enter!) when a figure jumped from the shadows and pounded the window, shrieking at the top of its lungs.
Now, every man plans for a situation such as this. They dream of calmly defending the attack with expert karate moves while casually bantering with their foe over the death of their father until defeating the enemy and leaving him tied up and unconscious on the doorstep of the police station. Unfortunately, this is NEVER what happens.
After I pried myself off of the ceiling, collected my wits, and changed my shorts, I walked to the window to find my friends Michelle and Kristen. When they finally stopped laughing at me, we had a great discussion on the new Batman film. While we were talking, Michelle brought up an excellent observation. She pointed out the contrast found in the character of Harvey Dent.
In the beginning of the movie, Dent is a hero who stands for everything right. However, Dent’s life is altered by a series of tragic events, including severe burns to his face, and he becomes evil. Or does he?
Michelle pointed out to me that the evil was there all along; it was only exposed later. Dent had some serious character issues from the beginning, but he hid them well. However, trials have a way of bringing out either our best or our worst qualities.
When do we find out the most about ourselves: during easy times or hard times? I have found that the trials of life always force me to look long and hard into the mirror of my soul. These are also the times I am the most desperate for God. Psalm 66:10 says, “For You, O God have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.” Silver is put in the fire so that everything of no value can be burned off, leaving only the most precious material. God may allow us to go through hard times so that our true character is revealed. Although we may not realize it at the time, He does this out of love. He wants us to become beautiful silver, without all the unattractive rock surrounding it. Trials show what is keeping us from being all that God wants us to be. We are left with the choice of giving in to our dark side or allowing God to burn it away. So the next time God holds up a mirror to your character, don’t be discouraged by what you see; He is showing you a work in progress, and the response is up to you.
Mike Blackaby is 25 years old and is the college and young adult pastor at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, GA. Mike loves to play music, loves to snowboard, play hockey, and cheers for the Colorado Avalanche. He is terrified of spiders, but loves reading fantasy novels, watching movies, taking road trips, building camp fires, and will do any roller coaster if someone goes with him. You can contact him via Facebook.